


Point Pleasant

by ReaderJane



Category: Stephanie Plum - Evanovich
Genre: F/M, Mild Language, Minor Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2004-07-02
Updated: 2004-07-02
Packaged: 2017-10-06 07:47:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,449
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/51344
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReaderJane/pseuds/ReaderJane
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rewrite of a scene from Ten Big Ones, for the TBO POV challenge</p>
            </blockquote>





	Point Pleasant

Stephanie was quiet during the drive to Point Pleasant. I wondered what the last few days had been like for her. I guessed they had been rough, but she would never admit it. Stephanie measured her weight by her waistband. I measured it by the line of her jaw. Judging by the way that line had softened while I was gone, she had been hitting the doughnuts pretty hard.

I had spent the last week wrapping up an out-of-town job. It was a sensitive job, one that I didn't like to dump on anyone else. When Tank called to say Stephanie had found the RangeMan office building, I was relieved that she would have a secure place to sleep. There was also a certain satisfaction that when she was in danger, she ran to me. Even when I was away, she looked to me for protection and help.

I had driven nine hours straight to get back to Trenton after Tank told me about the hit man. I knew my men would keep an eye on Stephanie, but she had an amazing talent for evading their surveillance. Whether she knew she was being watched or not, she would go off in a seemingly random direction that made sense only to her. And the RangeMen were nervous about shadowing her. Several of them had been injured while trying to guard Stephanie. Only their respect for me kept them on the job.

When I woke her last night, she was as nervous as a cat about to bolt but unsure which direction to go. I thought by the time I got out of the shower she'd have moved to the couch. I hoped she would be still in my bed, waiting for me. What I didn't expect was to find her asleep. In my bed, wearing my shirt. Her curls spread across my pillow. Smelling like my soap. As if she knew she belonged there.

This morning when she told me about her attempt to interrogate Ward, I laughed like I haven't laughed in a long time. Not since the day I met her when she told me she was going to apprehend Morelli. She did it, too. Ass-backward and skating on luck, but she caught the man and brought him in. She'd had more determination than I credited her for.

I was glad that determination hadn't stretched to beating a prisoner. I didn't like to think of Stephanie being hard enough to do that. Let her put that burden on me. I'd carried it before.

There were no houses lit when we got to Vinnie's cottage. That was good. No potential witnesses in case this interrogation got out of hand. I pulled the Porsche into the driveway. Tank pulled the SUV in behind me.

"I can leave you in the car with Hal," I suggested as I got my utility belt from the back. "Would you feel more comfortable with that?" I didn't know if she could handle what might happen inside, and I wanted her able to deny the knowledge if it ever came to that. Again, she surprised me.

"No. I'm coming in." I was proud of her. This had been her plan, and she was going to see it through.

We found Ward in the bathroom shackled to the toilet and sink pipe. "Do you know who I am?" I asked him.

"Yeah," he answered. "I know who you are." His eyes flickered over the gun and Maglite hanging from my utility belt. Good. Ward wasn't going to be stupid and refuse to speak to me, or get mouthy. This might be simple after all.

"I'm going to ask you some questions," I said to him. "And you need to give me the right answers. If you don't give me the right answers, I'm going to leave you alone in the house with Tank and Hal. Do you understand?"

Again Ward said, "Yeah, I understand."

"Tell me about Junkman."

"Nothing to tell. He's from out of town. L.A. Nobody even knows his name. Just Junkman."

"Where does he live?"

"Moves around, livin' with the bitches. Always got a new bitch. We're not exactly best friends, you know? Like I don't know his bitches."

I felt Stephanie tense at the word. Ordinarily she would get pissy about it. I hoped she would keep quiet and leave the questioning to me. Ward was being cooperative. I didn't want to give him a reason to change his attitude.

"What's the deal with the killing? What's the list about?"

"Hey, man, I can't talk to you about these things. I'm a brother."

First refusal. I tapped his knee with the Maglite. Hard enough to make him pay attention, not hard enough to break the knee. Steph jerked at the sound. Ward went down to the floor.

"Anybody finds out I talked to you, I'm a dead man," he protested.

"You don't talk to me and you're going to wish you were dead." If I could intimidate him, this didn't need to escalate any further.

"It's about being Five Star General." Success. Ward was going to be smart and tell me what I wanted to know. "Junkman was a lieutenant in the organization out in L.A. He got sent here to take over on account of Trenton's had some leadership problems. Power vacuum after our OG Moody Black got taken out. Only thing, Junkman gotta impress the members first. He gotta eat some serious food, you know. Like he has to make some kills that count." It disgusted me to hear Ward describe the Slayers in military terms. An organization run on fear, not discipline and self-respect. No man who climbed to the top that way deserved to be called general. "Junkman already took out a Second Crown of the Kings and an enforcer. What he's got left is a cop and sweetie pie, here."

"Why Stephanie?"

"She's a bounty hunter. She collected a bunch of the brothers. And it's not good to get collected by snatch. It's not got a high prestige factor. So for Junkman's last proof of worthiness the council decided he had to give the members some bounty hunter. The plan is he catches the snatch and passes it around to the members before he does her. She's part of the coronation."

Stephanie staggered out of the bathroom and collapsed on the couch in the living room. I closed the bathroom door and squatted beside her.

"Are you okay?" I asked her.

"I'm fine. It was getting boring, so I thought I'd take a nap." That's my Babe. Never admit to fear, even when it's making her hands shake and her voice waver.

I kept talking to keep her focused. "We're done with Anton Ward. Do you have plans for him?"

"I was going to revoke his bond and put him back in jail."

"And the reason for this?"

"He agreed to wear a PTU and then refused when we got him released. Escaped out the bonds office bathroom window before we could install the unit." Smart thinking. She'd had it all planned out. Usually Stephanie shoots from the hip, but this time she'd come up with a well-thought-out strategy. Maybe that came from thinking she was on her own. If I left town more often, would she take a smarter approach to her apprehensions? Didn't matter. I wasn't going to leave her now, not to satisfy my curiosity. I left Tank to handle Ward's return to jail in the morning.

Steph was quiet again during the drive back to Trenton. I had a lot of thoughts in my head, but nothing I was ready to say out loud. I parked the car and hit the elevator button for the fourth floor.

"What's on the fourth floor?" she asked.

"Studio apartments that are available to RangeMan employees. I moved one of the men out so you could have your own place until it's safe for you to leave." The doors opened to the fourth floor and I wrapped her hand around a key. I wanted to bring her back to my apartment, but she still had unresolved issues with Morelli. She had to decide for herself to leave him permanently if I was going to be anything more than the man she cheated with.

"Don't expect me to always be this civilized," I said.

She looked lost. "I'm undone. I don't know what to say."

I took the key back, crossed the hall, and opened the door to 4B. I flipped the light on and shoved her inside.

"Lock the door before I change my mind," I said. "Hit seven if you need me."

_Need me._


End file.
